Dave Ramsey’s Financial Wisdom From ProverbsSample

Day 4: Slaves to Debt

After nearly three decades of talking to people about money, I've figured something out. If you tell a lie loud enough and long enough, people will begin to believe it's true. Even if they know in their hearts that the myth is complete bunk, they'll live as if it's real.

These days, there's a big myth that's fooling a lot of people. It's the myth that debt is an effective part of their financial plan. Credit has been marketed to us so effectively that most people think they can't live without it. They think it's a good thing, a necessary thing. And they think anyone who lives without debt must be crazy!

Well, I've been called crazy before, and I'm okay with that. When it comes to debt, I don't want to be normal. And I'm in pretty good company because King Solomon - who knew a lot about money and wealth - felt the same way.

In Proverbs 22:7, he was adamant about avoiding debt. Why? Because he understood what so many people today totally miss: Debt enslaves us!

The Bible says that the borrower is slave to the lender. That's pretty strong language, but it's totally on target. Think about it. A slave can't give because he doesn't have anything. He can't go where he wants to go or do what he wants to do because he always has a master calling the shots. That's exactly how it feels when you're up to your eyeballs in debt. Hey, why do you think they call it MasterCard?

Solomon knew what he was talking about. This guy was the wisest man who ever lived! He didn't use the word “slave" by accident, and he wasn't being overly dramatic. He was just showing us what debt really is: a cruel master.

If you feel like debt is enslaving you, don't wait any longer. You can do something about it today. Financial Peace University is a biblically based curriculum that teaches people how to handle money God's ways. Learn how to get rid of debt, manage your money, and spend and save wisely. Visit daveramsey.com/fpu to learn more.